Trail running legend Ann Trason will be in Seattle at Seven Hills Running Shop next Monday evening at 7PM. RSVP here. She’s bringing one of her Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run cougar trophies to Seven Hills where it will reside on long-term loan. Check out Western States’ history and see …

Seattle has long been an epicenter of trail running activity. That culture means we have a busy trail running calendar. It’s possible to do 2-4 trail races per week. Last Saturday, under perfect northwest conditions–rain and cold–Northwest Trail Runs hosted the Rattlesnake Ridge Half Marathon and 5-Miler. The start was …

Last year “Everesting” was a thing amongst a small subset of area cyclists. In a nutshell, Everesting is doing hill repeats until you’ve ascended the height of Mt. Everest (29,029′.) While there doesn’t seem to be the same level of enthusiasm for Everesting amongst cyclists this year, prominent area ultra …

Ultra running events (events longer than a marathon distance) are up 1,000% in the last decade according to The Guardian. Although racing events have the most visible presence, here in the Pacific Northwest there are a couple intriguing variations on the ultra running theme. Aspire Adventure Running, one of Northwest …

Beaming with exuberance and emanating positivity, Richard Kresser is a prominent activist expanding the boundaries of running and multisport endurance adventures in the Northwest and beyond. Richard grew up in Iowa, where he felt challenged by an older brother who demonstrated abundant athletic talent. “Growing up, I was always undersized …

Ellen Lavoie has always been a “body in motion.” Growing up in rural New England she loved to play in the woods. She has also always been a free spirit who found it hard to stick with things. As a kid she tried team sports, but they never felt right. …

Within the progression of ultra running, Ras & Kathy Vaughan are rather unlikely activists. Ras’ first backpacking trip at age 11 ended with his Boy Scout troop being rescued by helicopter. When Ras and Kathy met in 1996 neither had any formal athletic experience, and Ras in particular was doing …

Like all athletic disciplines, ultra running has its own unique vocabulary which can be off-putting at first. For starters, the term “ultra running” is a bit of a misnomer. A major misconception is that “ultra (and trail) running” involves running at all times. Yes, depending on the route, the very …

Seattle’s Chris Ragsdale, considered one of the US’ top ultra cyclists, has increasingly put his athletic efforts into ultra running. As Chris’ training buddy Jim Ryan has noted, Chris is building a resume as an all-around ultra athlete. After a successful but painful 2013 Race Across America, Chris re-evaluated his …

I first got to know Jessica Kelley in 2013 when she was a coach with Cycle University, and was the liaison with the Cascade Bicycle Club’s High Performance Cycling team. At the time she probably thought of herself as a triathlete, and as you can see in the video below, …